Rest in Peace, Carrie Fisher: A Crusader for Substance Use Disorder and Mental Health Awareness

Posted on Dec 27, 2016

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Image via Huffington Post

2016 has been a rough year for celebrities in recovery. After the untimely overdose of Prince and the recent death of George Michael that’s being attributed to his own struggles with substance use disorder, today we lost the original crusader for widespread acceptance of substance user disorder and mental health, Carrie Fisher.

Carrie Fisher is the daughter of Hollywood legends Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds. Her most notable role was in the blockbuster “Star Wars” trilogy as Princess Leia. She went on to star in movies such as “The Blues Brothers,” “Hannah and Her Sisters,” and” When Harry Met Sally…,” forever cementing her place in Hollywood history. But her greatest work was the autobiographical Postcards from the Edge, which was later adapted for the big screen and starred Meryl Streep and Shirley McLaine.

But what Infinite Recovery will forever remember Carrie for was her amazing work around substance use disorder and mental health. Fisher’s Postcards from the Edge was one of the first honest and realistic depictions of drug abuse and mental health. Carrie shed light on the fact that the disease of addiction and mental illness does not discriminate – it affects people of any social standing and stature. She even brought these topics to the forefront in her recent one-woman show titled Wishful Drinking. Fisher covered everything from growing up as the daughter of Hollywood royalty to bipolar disorder to her own drug addiction and motherhood.

Carrie Fisher was a leader. Carrie was brave. She had the guts to be open and out-front about her recovery and show America that anyone can suffer from this disease. She gave us hope that we can recover.